The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera
The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera was a simulator ride at Universal Studios Florida, and one of the park's original attractions. The story line was that Dick Dastardly and Muttley have kidnapped Elroy Jetson, Yogi Bear and Boo Boo give chase and the audience is in for the ride of their lives. It was created and executive produced by Peter N. Alexander and directed by Mario Kamberg with Hanna-Barbera founder William Hanna as creative consultant. It was the first ride film to predominantly use computer-generated imagery, with the characters created using traditional cel animation techniques and optically composited. This was the first of three simulator ride attractions to be built inside Soundstage 42 in Universal Studios Florida, followed by Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast and the current Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. Attraction 'Queue' The facility which housed the ride featured several areas in which the guests were moved throughout. The outside queue area, where people waited in line, featured several televisions that showed Hanna-Barbera cartoons on a loop. When the ride first opened, the queue videos consisted of whole short episodes of Hanna-Barbera's "three-shorts" shows such as Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear as well as extended clips from Hanna-Barbera's well-known full-length story shows (The Flintstones, The Jetsons, etc.). In the years after, clips and commercials from Hanna-Barbera's modern cartoons such as SWAT Kats, were played on the monitors interspersed with the classic shows. The guests were then taken into a pre-show area where the storyline for the ride was revealed. 'Pre-show' Inside the pre-show, there were 3 projection screens. Two oval shaped screens and a regular square screen. On one of the oval screens Yogi Bear appeared pestering guests for food, Boo Boo shows up to inform him that the guests are here for an animation demonstration by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. The two (live-action) appear on the square screen and begin talking about animation, leading to drawing Elroy Jetson, who magically comes to life and jumps out of the paper three dimensionally. Hanna goes on to talk about computer animation using Dick Dastardly's airplane (in this case, a spaceship). Dastardly and Muttley soon show up from inside the spaceship's depths, requesting that they be a part of Hanna-Barbera's next project. However, Hanna and Barbera informs him that the Jetsons are next (coincidentally, at the time of the ride's opening, the release of Jetsons: The Movie was only several weeks away) followed by The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo. In a fit of rage, Dastardly kidnaps Elroy by forcefully pulling him into the computer using the suction of a toilet plunger gun, claiming "If I'm not the star of the next project, then no one will be! I'm taking Elroy where you'll never find him!" The computer begins to self-destruct and the two run away. Yogi and Boo Boo, feeling they should do something, go (with the ride guests) into a rocket ship (the main theater) to go save Elroy from the evil plans Dastardly and Muttley have in store for him. 'Ride' When the riders enter the main theater, the riders are seated in a rocket ship with Yogi as the captain. The power source is a large rubber band that fires the rocket via a giant slingshot. The force is so strong everyone ends up going back in time to Bedrock. The riders fly off a cliff and through Mr. Slate's construction site before flying into the main city. Yogi and the riders chase after Dastardly through the streets, dodging cars, residents of Bedrock (including Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble), and Yogi ends up chasing Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble (who are driving Fred's car) down a street by accident. The riders fly up after Dastardly into the skies, and through a vortex. The riders end up chasing Dastardly through a cemetery in the middle of the night, and the riders are on a near-collision near the Mystery Machine that Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are driving, leading them into a castle where they encounter ghosts. The riders fly around the haunted house looking for Dastardly down hallways and corridors, dodging Scooby and Shaggy who are left hanging on a chandelier when the riders chase after Dastardly into another vortex. This time, the riders end up in the future into Orbit City, dodging flying cars and buildings. It's not long before Elroy's family (except Judy and Astro who are absent from the ride) appear and see Elroy captured, (after which he jumped from Dastardly's ship in a bold move aiming to get caught by one of his parents standing nearby, just to be pulled back in Dastardly's ship by the suction of a toilet plunger) and chase after Dastardly with the riders, going into a futuristic amusement park. The riders fly on a roller-coaster track after the villain, and end up going down a steep drop when Rosie (flying with the Jetsons) extends her arm and lifts Dastardly and Muttley from their rocket, allowing George to save Elroy. Dastardly and Muttley then get surrounded by thousands of flying cop cars, and both are arrested and dropped in a flying jail cell. The Jetsons thank them, and the riders fly back home through a vortex and crash land back at the station on a giant inflated bumper reading "END". Yogi gave them a farewell message. "So folks, thanks for joining in the ride, I'll see you on the outside!" A lamp comes down from the top, from which Yogi pulls the light switch. The screen goes black and the ride ends. 'Post-show' After the show, guests were escorted into an interactive area where they could interact with various technologies geared towards children. 'Hanna-Barbera's Store' Following this area, was a gift shop where Hanna-Barbera merchandise could be purchased. Cast *Greg Burson as Yogi Bear *Patric Zimmerman as Elroy Jetson *Michael Bell as Dick Dastardly *Don Messick as Boo-Boo Bear, Muttley, and Scooby-Doo *Joseph Barbera as Himself (live-action pre-show) *Henry Corden as Fred Flintstone *Frank Welker as Barney Rubble, Bedrock Dinosaur, Robot *Jean Vander Pyl as Wilma Flintstone and Rosie *B.J. Ward as Betty Rubble *Casey Kasem as Shaggy Rogers *Jeff Bergman as George Jetson, Ghosts, Police Chief *Penny Singleton as Jane Jetson *William Hanna as Himself (live-action pre-show) *Joseph Barbera as Himself (live-action pre-show) Category:Theme park attractions